New bearing solutions ensure high availability of continuous casting plants

In steel rolling mills, rolling bearings are critical components that support the strand guide rolls on continuous casting machines. During processing, the cast strand is supported and tilted from the vertical to the horizontal by rolls that rotate at low speeds. In order to minimise the deflection, these rolls are supported throughout their length by multiple rolling bearings.

The operating conditions in continuous casting plants place very high demands on the rolling bearings. The bearings are subjected to high loads at low speeds and must operate reliably despite high temperatures and water spray. If a bearing fails, production must be stopped and significant downtime costs will be incurred whilst the bearing is removed and replaced.

For many years, Schaeffler has worked with continuous casting plants, supplying a range of cylindrical and spherical roller bearings to the steel processing industry, for use in strand guide rolls. The CoCaB service goes a step further than this and offers tailor-made bearing solutions to suit all types of strand guide rolls, including cylindrical and split spherical roller bearings for driven rolls, needle roller bearings for the upper section of the casting machine, as well as special bearings with circulating water-cooled housings.